the Traveler
by eternalmagai
Summary: This story is ending up developing into a fine work i think, about a boy named Elijah and his travels through the land as they take him on a winding road towards his destiny to save his birthright... and in the process the universe. Comment and Fave :3 ty
1. Prologue

_The_

traveler

Elijah looked up anxiously at the road. Maybe today would be the day his package would come. He learned he couldn't get too anxious, that's how people assumed. And everyone knew what assumptions made. He couldn't believe that it was already noon; it seemed like just hours ago he was awoken to the birds being gunned down not further than a mile away.

The sun was beating on him rather angrily now and he couldn't help but wonder if it was getting revenge on him for the prank he pulled last week on the preacher, Reverend Christoph Emmuns: who knew? Life was proving to be a lot harder on all of them in that church since he came into town and honestly it didn't seem to bother Elijah all that much; maybe because he was from a different set of rules, a different life than the one that was presented here.

No one understood Elijah and he liked it that way. He loved the certain mystery he had over everyone who had lived here all their life. Ah, yes… the small quiet town of Hill Ridge that was just a speck on the map of the greater picture; but no one here would ever guess so secluded in their ways and customs and cut off from the great adventure of the rest of the world. He was therefore the least trusted one when he rolled into town one day, scraggly and starving. The good Samaritans took him in, fed him, bathed him and soon accepted him as they would their own. Actually, that lasted for a good day before he set the kitchen on fire; then they kicked him out which was lucky for him because he thought it was the gallows for him. He smiled on this now, back then he was scared beyond recognition.

Elijah was a good natured boy he just had one main problem, he was mischievous. Hands down it got him into more than his share of problems. If it wasn't lying to the school girls to catch a quick feel, it was putting eggs into house nurse's stockings to get a quick laugh. He couldn't help it. It seemed like everyday it got worse and the more he tried to resist the more he had to do something. It always caught up to him in the end and he would always be asked, or more chased, out of town. He had grown used to this curse and didn't get angry any longer when the proverbial shoe would drop and he would once more be forced to wander searching his place. In that regard he was at least responsible; he had to look at the bright side. He knew that eventually this town too would tire of his devious tricks and be forced to excommunicate him from here as well. With this always in the fore front of his mind he made sure to enjoy his stay as long as he could. It was his only option he supposed. If you can't beat an illness, enjoy it.

Hill Ridge was a good place. He could see himself settling down and owning a spot of land on one of the hills… if he could see himself settling down. It was a great place for children and parents alike, he wasn't blind. The people here were a lot friendlier than any town prior. They seemed interested in helping him rather than whipping him. They preached a lot but they were good natured people all the same. They gave him food when he asked for some and they even put him up for the night when it rained. He had it better here than out on the road. He also didn't want to leave knowing the burden he held that no one else could understand nor help him with. He would just have to go through life and a lot of pain before he could find a place to rest and find his own inner peace.

He looked up at the sky resting on a grassy knoll. He loved looking up at the clouds and guessing which one looked like which. It was all he could do since they didn't let him in school and he didn't have a job. He had had a little money when he first came into town but that was spent by then end of the first night. So now he just tried to learn about life through things that others took for granted. A warm meal, or a passing cloud, sometimes he learned through having a conversation with a cricket. The days passed in a haze and soon he was passing along too. He didn't know how old he was mainly because on the road he didn't celebrate birthdays. He supposed he was a teenager but he couldn't be precise . He had just enough education to know his name and how to spell it. A little trick his mother taught him:

"First comes the E then everybody laughs. Followed by the interesting journey all have. Put it all together and what do you have. E- L- I- J- A― H" she used to sing.

The only real memory he had of his mother. His father he couldn't remember at all. He didn't know why. But he would never forget that song his mother would sing. He could almost see her face if he really focused but with the memory came the pain and so he would shy away as quickly as it came. He supposed there was a reason he hadn't thought of all of this for a while but he just pushed it aside. He had to put all of this behind him. For as long as he could remember he had been alone and on the road. If he let things like this get to him he would be as useless as a wheel in the mud. Besides, his life was full of wonder and mystery. He supposed the gods had a good sense of humor picking on him out of all the boys they could have. He was just grateful to be alive. A bumbling fool in paradise, a lady from the last town called him; and he couldn't agree more.

Elijah let out a little chuckle at how deep he was being right now. It was way out of his character, and he supposed he had matured; being on your own for as long as he had would definitely force you to grow at least a little. Elijah the man, it had a nice little ring to it that he was beginning to like. Yes from now on he would be considered the man Elijah, the bravest and most noble of all men; the one who saved girls from burning buildings and fought timber wolves that opposed towns. There would be legends of him and down in history would be the name of the man that would bring freedom to the world: Elijah. He giggled for what seemed like hours at the concept and thanked his lucky ancestors that he had an imagination such as he did; it made the days fun if anything else. He looked down as he started to descend from his laughing high and saw some of the town folk looking at him like he was off his rocker and thus ensued a second burst of giggles. Before he knew it he was clutching at his sides squealing in pain and agony as he couldn't control his laughter which only made him laugh more. The town folk walked away thanking the mighty white Jesus that their children weren't as bad as "that boy".

The town bell chimed out once and then again and everyone was soon crowding around the town square to see what the commotion was about. The children in front and adults huddled around in a protective platoon that they were taught on a regular basis once a week. The boy that was not familiar with all the customs yet stood out like a sore thumb sitting on top of the grassy knoll looking intently and curiously at the scene. Life seemed bad before when he was the people's problem but it was about to get a great deal more interesting for everyone in Hill Ridge, including Elijah…

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... next chapter: CHAPTER 0 the beginning of the end ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...


	2. Chapter 0

**CHAPTER 0**

"_**Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed"**_

― 1 Corinthians 15: 51

"WHAT'S ALL THE COMMOTION?"

"_What's happening? Is there something wrong?"_

"What's goin' on mama? Why are we here and what happened to the bell?"

These were some of the questions that were being thrown around as the towns people stood in total confusion. An air of tension was now thick around the crowd so that it suffocated and derived oxygen to their brains making them panic and spew out the first thing that came to mind.

"IS THE TOWN ON FIRE?"

"_WHERE ARE THE COWS_?"

"Is it the end of the world?"

"**Where is the reverend? The reverend will help us**"

Finally the town's governor greeted the frightened people with an air of diligence and authority. A hush came over the crowd as his piercing gaze looked into each and everyone of their eyes. Convinced he had everyone's attention he began:

"**MY FELLOW PEOPLE… It has come to my attention that we have a common problem. It has come to my attention that there is something that you an' I both share upon as a common goal. I as your governor would like you to know I share in your pain and trials. I would like you to know that I am on this problem and won't sleep until we get to the bottom and completely inebriate this common flaw that you and I both share. Until this disaster is uprooted **I will not rest** an' as your gov'na I will make sure that this is handled with the **utmost ca'ya**, for you as well as for me**"

The people hinging on his every word to find out what he was talking about made him smile to himself as he paused for dramaticism, letting the people ask what it was he and them shared in. What problem they asked and then he changed on them and with the most sentimental eyes and pained look on his face he forced himself to continue:

"**IT… has come to my attention that we have a problem with our E-con-o-me. It seems like our prices for this town is a goin' down and with that the chil'ren can't get a good educ-a-shun. The men ca'nt find no work. The women ca'nt find no food ta cook, and I ca'nt serve you as the best damn gov'na if I can't afford to help-you-out**"

Panic stricken the people started to look around as they heard the life they had fought so hard to maintain was in jeopardy. They never noticed Elijah making his way down the knoll to get a better view and listen closer to what the "crazy man" was saying. They were now looking towards their elected government official for answers to this serious problem. They were only town folk they didn't know how to run a town, and they sure didn't know how to keep an e- con- o- me going.

"WHAT DO WE DO?"

"**WELL, MY FRIENDS! AS IT SO HAPPENS I THINK I HAVE A SOLUTION… an answer to our praya's. There happens to be a riva not but a quata mile from he'ya. I believe that if we were to build a bridge ova that riva we would be able to connect with towns an' even Ca- mea- rse with the otha towns so as ta keep our town runnin' like it should**"

The people were relieved to hear that their leader was on top of things. They were all too willing to say yes. Just as the governor was about to go over his plans in depth, the traveler spoke his 2 cents:

"It's a big world out there… how do you know that the neighboring town isn't dangerous?"

The look on everyone's faces as they realized the profound usefulness of this boy's knowledge of the outside was too much for the boy to handle and he giggled at them for a whole minute, giving the governor time to compose himself to the question… which no one saw. When the boy was upright again and the people were back to the question, the governor answered something like this:

"MIGHTY FINE QUESTION MY BOY. The youth now have such a keen perspective on life and that in itself is what you… and I are tryna preserve. We are tryna completely, undeniably, 100 and 10% puttin' an' effort to help the young to keep and maintain our society, our cult'a, our essence itself! AM I RIGHT?"

The speech riled up the town… but the boy was not fooled. He waited until everyone was done so he could speak and ask the question again, but unfortunately the governor was on a roll and soon the boy lost interest and went elsewhere. Elijah never did like public speaking anyway, he would much rather go explore the woods or go to the creek and take a dip in the river. In many ways, he was just a kid that didn't want to admit that he was all alone and so he would immerse himself in his imaginary world to escape the pains of his life, thus making him mischievous. It wasn't really that he wanted to do anything "wrong" it's just life was too damn boring for him not to spicen things up a little bit.

Thus he found himself in this place where he resided now, a creek where he found the only true peace he had ever experienced in his life. The sounds of the water as it went on its path to the spans of forever was just as soothing as him pretending his mother was still around. Surprisingly, this actually did work which perplexed him. He really didn't remember much about his family but when he tried he could almost remember his mother, like a ghost that almost could be seen or a shadow that flared up out the corner of his eye but when he looked it was gone. He supposed this had to do with the fact that he always liked to think his family was watching over him in some way. As he contemplated on this idea, he sat down near the edge of the river and allowed his eyes to close and the river's sounds to soothe him and quite his restless spirit. He didn't know what it was about the river, or water in general, but every time he was around it he could feel at ease. Like his soul itself was some form of liquid calling out to the waters around him. He chuckled again.

"You're that boy everyone says to stay away from ain'tcha?"

Shocked, the boy turned around to see who was talking to him. A small, blonde girl with freckles on her cheeks dressed in a dirty shirt and overalls was found in the direction the voice had been thrown. Somehow, Elijah couldn't help grinning a little bit, she looked to be his age and in the interest of him declaring his manhood, his loins approved, but she didn't need to know that.

"Yeah, I reckon I am that fella, and who might you be pertty darlin?"

"Name's Jessie, and as far as I can see you ain't so bad, new kid", she said with a satisfied nod. Elijah giggled, and after a minute so did Jessie, and that sealed their friendship.

They ran about the wooded area near the river playing hide and seek and watching the frogs croak at them, having a gay old time. As the sun set, Jessie reluctantly set off for home with a promise to come around the same time tomorrow. Elijah wondered around for a while grinning ear to ear as he recalled the face he was smitten by. As he wandered back towards the town he noticed a bright light radiating from the towns direction. It was glowing immensely... without a second thought, Elijah ran towards the burning town. As he neared it he heard whinnying of horses and panicked yells as the town's church fell to the ground.

Elijah, finally in the town square, saw the beloved town turning to embers before his eyes. All the buildings were on fire, many already decimated, and people were running around panic stricken. Horses were bolting anywhere they could, it seemed NO ONE new what to do. Elijah sprang into action. He ran towards the nearest panicking person and grabbed them, "FOLLOW ME! THERE'S A RIVER NEAR BY AND IF WE CAN GET THE TOWN TO USE IT'S WATER WE CAN SAVE WHAT LITTLE IS LEFT TO BE SAVED!" That did the trick it seemed. Word spread quickly and everyone started grabbing pots, pans, jugs, whatever they could get their hands on to fill with water and save their prized town they worked so hard to erect up. After a few hours dawn was approaching with a miserable sight. Most of the town was in cinders, a few still standing, but barely as their charred remains revealed only an exoskeleton of what the former monument was, many horses lost, and many towns people without home. None the less, the fires were for the most part contained, and even in the midst of all of the sacrifice they towns folk had done to erect this town from nothing, they still maintained a sense of pride watching it burned to the ground... or maybe that was reality before it sank in fully. Elijah wasn't sure on much right at that moment.

"ELIJAAAHHH!", it was Jessie. He was glad to see she was alright, but the tears in her eyes spoke volumes. "I can't find my parents Elijah... I don't know where they are!"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... next chapter: CHAPTER 1 - Allies, Enemies, and Divine Intervention ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...


End file.
